Zzap


Football Frenzy

Publisher: Alternative
Machine: Commodore 64/128

 
Published in Zzap #35

Football Frenzy

This unusual adventure is alternative software in more ways than one - the player is cast as manager of a less-than-successful football team, Grimsditch Rangers, and attempts to get them into the Cup Final. The adventure starts on a Wednesday and the player has just three days to "fulfil his dream". But Murphy's Law rules and everything that can go wrong does.

Written using Incentive Software's Graphic Adventure Creator, Football Frenzy has poor, blocky graphics and bland location descriptions like "You are a in a corridor. You can go east." In the first location, the manager's office, the text says the player can go east or north - though in fact only west and north are available. This sloppiness is unforgivable in a game marketed as a professional product.

A telephone index found on the manager's desk has the phone numbers of important contacts - all of which are engaged at the start of the game, wasting the player's time and doing nothing to draw him into the adventure.

Interaction works reasonably efficiently and the game understands logical commands well, though the limitations of Incentive's utility make themselves obvious. But gameplay doesn't score a single goal.